Plans to extend and improve one of Swansea’s gateway buildings is getting grant-funding support from Swansea Council.
The landmark Grand Hotel in High Street, owned by High Street Hotels Ltd, is planning to extend into several neighbouring properties to meet increasing demand from business and leisure visitors.
Swansea Council approved the grant under its Building Enhancement Programme (BEP) grant, which provides funding support towards the improvement of commercial frontages within parts of the city centre.
The BEP forms part of the City and County of Swansea Council-led £38.5m Waterfront City project, backed with £19.7m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and the active support of the Welsh Assembly Government to deliver a range of improvements for the City.
Having undergone a £2.3m refurbishment in 2003, the hotel facing Swansea’s main railway station is running at high occupancy and needs more rooms to meet demand. The grant supported elements include improvements to the High Street elevation of numbers 197 to 201 High Street, and will include new windows, doors, shopfronts and re-rendering works.
The grant applicant has also signed up to the Council’s Beyond Bricks and Mortar policy which seeks to maximise opportunities for local employment and training arising from such public funding.
The project will maximise opportunities for local people returning to or entering work to get into training or achieve employment.
Cabinet member for Regeneration Cllr Gareth Sullivan said: “The enhancements will give a fresh look to the street at the city’s northern gateway.
“Alongside other planned projects along High Street, including the Coastal Housing scheme which is underway, this scheme will not only boost the streetscene in the immediate area but also have a positive impact on the whole city.
“I am delighted that the Grand Hotel is flourishing and welcome the investment that its owners are making in this city.”
A spokesman for High Street Hotels Ltd. said: ‘We are very pleased to see the recent and continued investment in High Street and most importantly to be part of this.”
